Fabric bundle and farm beasts

Beasts may be a stretch of a term...
Linen dyed with onion skins, wrapped around walnut leaves and rusty tools.

New Dyee-ees

 An experiment with eucalyptus that didn't quite go as planned.

 A new goose-print bandana. Mostly it's been used for protecting my favorite basket during wildcrafting adventures. Considering over dying with a shibori-style tie method and red alder bark...

And lastly, the Infinite Lion Scarf. Dyed with nettles, Japanese maple, willow, ferns and other miscellaneous greens. Features an old willow bark dyed pocket (pockets on everything, please) and an antler button I found at the Horse Drawn Auction & Swap Meet in Oregon a few months ago.
I am in love with how the iron keys showed up in the fabric, need to find more...

Wild Goose Chase

 Allow me to start this off with an obvious fact: I should have probably ironed this first! But alas, sometimes there's an amazing break in the weather and you just have to rush outside with whatever you were considering photographing.

 All hand sewn, dyed and printed by hand. I think it took around 15 or so hours of hands-on work to complete.

 It has all of the necessities; low-waste pattern, cute pleating and contrasting pockets. There needs to be more pockets. In everything.

 Little details are important to me. All 28 pleats were sewn in with either stars or moons.

 Originally I wanted to have the big dipper across the chest, but the colors didn't set as well as I had hoped. It turned into a good excuse to use my favorite lino block so I'll never complain.

 I should probably note that I didn't use any mordant, but the purple kale worked really well, as did red cabbage for the soft cream at the bottom.

All in all this is a very functional dress (can't wait to wear it at the farmers market, so if you're on Bainbridge island keep an eye out!) and I really cannot wait to make the next one.

Current works in progress

     Figured I would share some of what I am working on outside of my actual job.
     Have several dye projects soaking for patches and bandanas, two different kombuchas (black currant black & green), experimental plantain & usnea oil, a ginger bug for sodas sometime next week, as well as working on branding for the shop!

Things finished & beginning

It is done.

Erelas

     After several months- honestly much longer than it should have taken- the Beacons of Gondor have all been painted. (You can see the first three here)

Very likely my favorite- Min-Rimmon

     This series was a great exercise in watercolor techniques & landscapes. Especially the whole "the scenery gets lighter the further away it is" part. I was terrible at that in school.

Calenhad

      Trying to achieve different skies was a lot of fun. Though there was quite a bit of aggravated wiping away of paint and starting over.

Finally, Halifirien

      I still have another five of these small watercolor pieces left, so I may have to do another series..... But that will have to wait a few weeks. In the meantime I have a few drawing to finish up and possibly an attempt to carve the Tiger Monk before I leave (one week tomorrow!!).
     During the trip I decided to dye smallish rectangles of cotton with gathered bit and pieces of vegetation as my dad and I drive across the country. I have eight rectangles cut out- the first is dyed from materials gathered at home (see below), and the last will feature vegetation from the farm on Bainbridge Island. In between will be collections from wherever we stop. Each will be decorated and ultimately sewn together to make a cover for the back seat of my faithful Green Bean.

        Here's to the weather improving, I for one am ready for a warm-weather adventure.

Exploring natural dyes

     Some time ago (late January) I gathered some willow bark, disgusting walnut hulls from the summer and a few other odds and ends from the local environment and set about to experiment using local, environmentally friendly dyes. Today, after many weeks of drying slowly and growing all manner of mycelia, the bundles have been opened, washed and dried.

      Originally this large piece was going to be cut up to sew a little table covering featuring some Canada goose prints I made awhile ago, but now I don't think I could bear cutting it apart!

      Instead I am contemplating turning this smaller piece into a mixed media wall hanging; still with the goose print though. This way I wouldn't have to cut it apart, and I can learn some simple quilting skills as well.

      The technique I used was hobcobbled together from several sources and essentially boiled down to the following:
1. Collect desired dye material. I used willow bark and black walnut hulls. Cons of deciding to do this in the winter... A quick Google search will yield many results of plant materials and mordants/etc that you can find in your area.
2. Soak in a 1:1 solution of soy milk & water. Allow to dry. Repeat several times.
3. Tie up fabric as desired. I added several strips of bark or little pockets of coffee grounds.
4. Add more of the dye material to a pot (depending on what you're using you might want to pick up a cheap one from a Salvation Army or something) and boil the fabrics for a time. This will largely depend on what you want and how patient you are.
5. Remove from water and set aside in something to dry slowly. I've read that some people restrict it to three weeks. Experiment to see what yield the results you're looking for.
6. Untie and be disgusted by all of the mold that is growing on it. Don't lick it. Wash in hot soapy water and get all the icky off. It adds to the color and results in some really awesome patterns. (If you're allergic to mold however, I do recommend leaving  it in a covered container or outside)
7. Dry, iron and use.

      These two were at the bottom of the container I dried them in and stayed soggy longer. I'll definitely be making note of this!

So pretty <3

      I'm hoping to get some more experimenting done while I'm in Washington later this year (!!). I'd still like to sew a Flying Goose pattern thing at some point, and can see that needing some blues or greens...  And not to mention oranges and yellows for a honeycomb patterned quilt... This has opened while new doors for me :D